Hey folks,

I copied this thread over from the community game forum so as to keep the other thread about those who want to play with others and so those who have something else to say about the game can do so here.

Had a go last night. For a game I was really looking forward to, she saw as a way 'in' to a series I've been wanting to play for years, the demo did a damn good job of putting me right off!

I'm going to go through some very, very first impression positives and negatives.

-The complete lack of a tutorial. I thought this was the game to finally make the series accessible?

-The controls. Attack mapped to triangle and circle with evade on cross? Not a fan of that at all, and goes against pretty much every other action adventure game I've ever played. Would take some getting used to unless the controls are completely remappable?

-The lack of feedback when attacking. I was just slashing away without really knowing if I was doing much damage as I didn't notice an obvious health bar for the monsters.

-The menus were confusing.

+God damn it's gorgeous. Truly awesome looking prehistoric open world, probably one of the best looking games I've seen this generation. I can only imagine the delight it would look in 4k.

+The weapons are incredibly meaty. Possibly even a little too weighty, but they really feel like they pack a punch.

+It's Monster Hunter on PS4, and I'm desperate to click with it, because I know it's my kind of game.

Anyone other series virgins got any initial thoughts? These are based on literally half an hour of play and one hunt.

I'm a bit of a heathen in that I don't really enjoy many of the MH tropes, and probably many of the things which hardcore fans feel to be essential. I find the combat very weighty, but I agree, it's not necessarily satisfying in its feedback. It's like a combination of the DS1 weight but with the floaty non-impact of DS2. You're right, by the way, there are no health bars, which is one of the interesting things about it, you keep slugging away and watch for visual cues in the monster's behaviour and yet, I find this incredibly stressful and unsatisfying for almost the whole fight. It's amazing when you do finally take something down but my word it is frustrating when it lollops off to heal and you lose track of it.

I find all of the item and potion stuff really cumbersome and the actual gameplay loop to be both addictive and unsatisfying, like ciggies. The only emotion it creates is a dissatisfaction with what I have and a desire to get the next thing. I already experience enough of that, like.

It'd make for an absolutely brilliant episode of Cane and Rinse!

Looking at videos and trailers it looks like everything I ever wanted from a Monster Hunter game - a seemless environment which feels like an organic world and a lot of the fat trimmed out.

Wish I had something to play it on! No way my laptop could run it.

As someone who tried to get on the series before and bounced right off this game is everything I wanted and I have to disagree that the game doesnt teach you anything it certainlly does, you have a whole trainining area where you can try out all the weapons and get used to the controls, now I do agree that the UI is a bit of a mess so it can be hard to process all that it's throwing at you but if you take some time you start figuring it out.

I also honestly dont understand how "the weapons dont give you feedback", everytime you hit with a big strike with a greatsword you feel the impact and even smaller weapons like the glaive you feel evey thump as you hit the monster and while they might not have a health bar the game does display the damage you're doing, so that's a way to keep track of where you should be hitting, I personally also dont know why they dont have a simple health bar but apparently even suggesting such an idea is heresy among Monster Hunter fans, some even found that the damage numbers where too much go figure.

The only thing that really bothers me in the demo is the lock-on system because it really isnt one, it's not like say in dark souls that when you lock on to something your attacks targets it, nope here the camera is locked on but your attacks keep going in your character direction which can be a real pain in the ass, now at least this time you have a right analog stick that you can use to control the camera but I still dont like this lock-on.

Other then that though Im really enjoying what Im playing it's interesting how similar the gameplay loop is to Witcher's: How you have to prepare beforehand, track the monster, in combat you have to explore it's weaknesses and use your itens.
In the beginning I was trying to fight like it was dark souls and just wacking the monsters with my weapon but as I kept playing I started to use the itens, like a mantle that makes you immune to knockback, a shock trap that keeps the monster in place for you to do damage, bombs,etc. It really changed the game for me because you have to think alot more then say for a souls boss to be really effective, weaker monsters you're gonna be able to beat just wacking them but harder ones not so much and I think it's really telling if you go look at stream footage of people trying to beat Rathalos or Diablos and how people get their asses kicked at first but as they keep trying they improving, because they start using all their itens and formulating strategies.

The lock on is another heretic's wish.

Just to go back to the impact thing, I think it depends on the weapon. I'd also say that you can get some very heavy blows in, Earth-shaking, but they seem to pass through the monsters, connect with the ground and then the monsters fall over. That's how it feels to me, anyway. Maybe I need to try some more weapons. I'm still a beginner after fifty hours on the 3DS!

Reviews are out and it is scoring well.

Anybody picking this up day one?

I am tempted by the hype but my internal alarm bells are ringing so I will pass, I think. Would be good to hear impressions though.

Never got on with any of the previous games in the series that I’ve played, it sits alongside the Souls games in my ‘I can see why people like these, but I don’t have the patience’ bucket.

The wait is killing me! I never expected to get on with this series after my limited time with 3 on the 3DS but after playing the betas Im fully onboard, glad it's getting good reviews and hopefully it will do well enough sales wise that Capcom decides to keep the series in this console format.

Chopper wrote: ↑January 25th, 2018, 9:15 am Anybody picking this up day one?

I've considered it, but I would only end up regretting my purchase as soon as the inevitable DLC arrives, so no.
Also, Capcom isn't exactly very high on the list of publishers I like to throw my money at.

But still, it looks good! I'll probably pick it up at some point in the future.

I’ve played 6-7 hours today.
I like.

This is my sixth MH, but this is easily the most accessible. Although there is still a lot to learn, it makes that process somewhat less intimidating.

It’s all very slick and polished too. Well worth Day 1 Tax for me.

Chopper wrote: ↑January 25th, 2018, 9:15 am Anybody picking this up day one?

I did and I'm loving what I've played so far!

I should have played the beta to see what it was like.

How much running away is there, on behalf of the monsters? Do they regenerate health when they run away? In the video I just watched, the player didn't seem to lose stamina when attacking, I guess this is not usually the case?

Most (if not all) monsters run away - and change behaviour in other ways - as you whittle them down in MH.

You then track them and chase them down, it's a big part of what separates MH from a regular 'boss rush' kind of experience.

Stamina plays a big part but you can mitigate with buffs (via meals and potions).

This is the first MH I've played and really enjoyed the beta. I was going to pick it up today with Dragon Ball Fighterz but with having no Internet for the next two weeks, I've held off.

Definitely getting it once I can get back online and hopefully there will be some hunting parties I can join.

I'll be playing on Xbox One. If you're also playing on that system then add me "dezm0nd" and feel free to jump in and out when you see me on.

Change of plans! My best friend is gushing over this game and has convinced me to give it a shot. Looks like I'll be picking it up for PS4 after all. I have no idea what I'm getting into!

Make sure and let us know how you’re getting on!

Separately, here’s a nice and short first impressions vid from someone who’s never played the series. Might be interesting to fence-sitters.

Bought it, played for a few hours, but struggling to get into it so far.

I'm a huge proponent of the "Depth > Complexity" mantra, and I feel like this game is sitting squarely on the wrong side of that fence. Granted, this is an issue I have with the vast majority of modern RPGs, so this criticism is anything but new. But there are just way too many systems for me to keep track of. Of course, it's entirely possible that it's not the game's fault and that it's just me being thick as fudge. How do people memorize all this stuff? But either way, I feel lost.

I really wish it was closer to something like Bloodborne (and yes, I get how silly it is to champion Bloodborne for its accessibility) in terms of control responsiveness, weapon handling and streamlined hub world design; rather than this Xenoblade-style bottomless ocean of data. I feel like I'm spending 90% of my time either deciphering various tabs written in font size 0.5, trying to manage my inventory, running towards various objectives, or fumbling around in the menus to avoid getting hooked up with intrusive randos.

Occasional slowdowns on my original model PS4 as well as my eternal pet peeve of non-customizable controls are just the icing on the cake.

It's just frustrating because I can tell there's a great game underneath all this nonsense. Huge potential for fantastic bossfights. The enemy AI alone is really impressive. The combat has a very unusual flow to it, but I don't want to write it off just yet. Something tells me it's great once you've gotten used to your mobility options and your weapon's moveset. I'll persevere tomorrow in hopes that it finally clicks.



I'm probably just being a grumpy old fart, but when I hear the term "RPG", this is what I picture:


When did accounting become cooler than adventuring?

In my eyes, this is the crux of the issue. When a game like MH gets called an "Action-RPG", the term doesn't encapsulate any of the things I associate with RPGs. Instead, it just means "action game with a bunch of obfuscating stats".

KSubzero1000 wrote: ↑January 28th, 2018, 2:26 am When did accounting become cooler than adventuring?

Gaming has been equally divided between the accountants and the gamblers now.

Occasional slowdowns on my original model PS4 as well as my eternal pet peeve of non-customizable controls are just the icing on the cake.

Can’t map Dodge to Circle?


That’s a really interesting take, and I guess the legacy issue of obscure and complex systems is still there in some form. Hopefully it gets better for you.

On a separate note, I’m finding that I’m playing a lot of games recently where you have to figure out the systems and mechanics and that’s a large part of the appeal. It’s a kind of strange place, often spending as long in wikis (or god forbid, in a spreadsheet - see accounting comment above) as in the game.